Politics

I didn’t discuss Nnamdi Kanu’s release with South-East govs — Obasanjo

Published

2 days ago

July 3, 2024

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has disclosed that the issue of releasing Nnamdi Kanu was not part of his discussion with the South-East governors in Enugu State on Tuesday..

The former President and Chief Emeka Anyaoku met with the governors on their own invitation to discuss regional development issues.

According to a statement on Wednesday by Special Assistant on Media to the former president, Kehinde Akinyemi, the purported release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by the Federal Government was not part of the discussion.

“The meeting with them was at my invitation and of Chief Emeka Anyaoku before their summit begins. The issue of Nnamdi Kanu was not on the agenda and was not discussed in my presence,” Obasanjo was quoted to have said.

He stated that the regional development issues included that of security and infrastructure.

Others were economic and cooperative/collaboration, which was meant to complement the national economic development agenda.

Since his re-arrest in Kenya in 2021 by the Federal Government, Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of Security Service (DSS) on the order of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Although he pleaded not guilty to the charges, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, declined to admit him to bail on the ground that he jumped the earlier one in which Senator Abaribe was his surety.

There have been calls from different quarters recently for the release of Kanu.

Among those calling for his release are Senators from the South-East led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.

The lawmakers claimed that unless Kanu is released, the social and economic activities in the South-East region will continue to be stagnant.

The senators held a closed-door meeting with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, where their letter to President Tinubu on the release of Kanu, was delivered for onward passage to the the presidency.

Also, the former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, in a chat with journalists on Saturday, called for Kanu’s release.

He argued that there was no reason for the continuous detention of the IPOB leader given that a Nigerian court earlier acquitted him, although that acquittal was overturned by the Supreme Court